


New Beginnings

by Hopelesslydevoted21d



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-08
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2017-12-18 04:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/875635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hopelesslydevoted21d/pseuds/Hopelesslydevoted21d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Desi Mercer leaves behind her life in the states to move to London and become a theatre actress.  What will happen when she develops a crush on her new neighbor Harry Styles? Will he return her feelings or will her past come back to haunt her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving Day

When I had mentioned the job opportunity in London to my mother she flipped out. She wanted to hold on to me so tightly that I would never be able to fall out of her grasp and actually start thinking for myself. She even threw a hissy fit when I wanted to go to college that was only two hours away. I could come home every weekend and that was still too far away from her. I knew she wouldn’t take my moving to London well, which is why I had signed the contract agreeing to work for them before I told my mother anything about it. As I had predicted when I sat down to talk to her about it she came up with every reason she could possibly think of to keep me with her. But I had already weighed this out in my head, for several days, and I knew I was making the right decision; I just had to stand my ground.

“Mom please, just hear me out!” I shouted in exasperation as I grew tired of this conversation going in circles.

“Desi, no! You’d be in another country all on your own.” My mother protested.

“I know that.”

“You’d be living all by yourself and you wouldn’t have anyone to help you with anything.”

“Oh you mean I’d be acting like the adult that I am?!” I took a deep breath to calm myself before continuing. “Look, whether you like it or not I am an adult and can make my own decisions; I don’t need your permission to do this. I came to you to talk about it so that it wasn’t like I was just running away to another country.”

“What about school?” she asked, finally calm and rational.

“School will always be there, I can always go back. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I don’t want to pass it up.”

“Think rationally for a minute Des!” She shouted frustrated again.

“I am! You’ve been nagging me to get a job! Well now I’ve found one! And it pays better than anything else I’m going to find!”

“But it’s in London!”

“Exactly! Not only would I get paid for doing something I love but I also get to work with amazingly talented people and see a city that I’ve always wanted to go to while doing it!”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“You just don’t want me to leave!”

“You’re not going!”

“Well that’s too bad because I already signed the contract! I am an adult and I do not need your permission for this!”

“You’re just trying to run away from your responsibilities!”

“How am I running from my responsibilities? I am going to be responsible for everything on my own in London!”

“School is a responsibility! And you’re running away from that!”

“Like I said school will always be there! But this opportunity won’t! If I play my cards right I could end up with a well paying career in acting!”

“What if that doesn’t work out? What then?”

“Then I come back home and I go back to school! If it doesn’t work out the most I’d be missing is one semester of school!”

“But then you’ll be behind” her volume softened but her voice was still thick with hostility.

“I can take summer courses to catch up if I need to, but I will not let this opportunity pass by.” I stated firmly.

“There’s no talking you out of this is there?” she sighed.

“No.”

“Fine. I’m just going to miss you.”

“I know. And I’ll miss you. But I’d be crazy to turn this offer down.”

“When do you have to leave?”

“Two weeks.”

“I’m sorry I freaked out.”

“It’s ok.”

“Are we ok now?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I don’t want you going to London mad at me.”

Within two weeks I had my bags packed and was somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean making my way to the city of my dreams. I landed around lunch time and quickly made my way to baggage claim being sure to grab one of those trolley things. I had to pack virtually my entire wardrobe because it was early may and I would be here until at least December, although hopefully I wouldn’t ever actually have to leave and go back to my normal boring life. There was a driver waiting to pick me up and take me to the apartment they had helped me find. I could tell when we pulled up that it was a nice complex, everything looked perfect and sparkling clean. The only downside was that my flat was on the 5 floor and I’m not a big fan of elevators, however with all of my luggage I didn’t exactly want to walk up four flights of stairs so I sucked it up and took the elevator.

It was a pretty nice flat. When you walked in you were in the living room and the kitchen was off to the side with a breakfast bar separating the two. The living room was fully furnished with a tan micro suede couch and two chairs surrounding a glass coffee table with wrought iron legs and mounted to the wall opposite the furniture was a 52 inch flat screen TV. The kitchen was clad with brand new stainless steel appliances and mahogany cabinets. The first door in the hallway was on the left and led to the main bathroom and door number two led to the guest bedroom. The next door was the laundry room and at the end of the hall was the master bedroom which held to walk in closets and a master bath. Once I started unpacking I realized that I had way too many clothes. Both closets were packed and I still had two more suitcases full of clothes. I put the rest of my clothes in the guest bedroom closet for now figuring I could find an IKEA once I was settled in.

It took a few hours to unpack and I was starving by time I was finished. I decided to look up some restaurants in the area and order some take-out. I decided on a Chinese place down the street that seemed easy to find and after ordering almost half of the menu I went to go freshen up before going to pick up my order. Even though I had three bags of food in my hands as well as my keys I still refused to take the elevator, taking the stairs instead. By the time I reached the fifth floor things were starting to fall out of my hands. Just as I reached the landing the items in my hands created an avalanche toppling out of my hands and I heard the faint ding of the elevator over the rustling of my bags.

“Here let me help you with that.” A deep voice bellowed over me as large hands came to my rescue to help me gather my things.

When I looked up I was met with emerald green eyes that sparkled like fresh fallen snow on a sunny day. I couldn’t believe it. Harry Styles lived in my apartment complex, or knew someone there, don’t make assumptions Des geeze! And get a grip I’m sure if you could see yourself you would look like an idiot.

“Thanks” I managed to scrape out.

“Don’t worry about it.” He said with a smile, oh god that smile, and those dimples, oh and those eyes, stop looking at me with that gorgeous face I’ll die of a heart attack. Pull yourself together, he’s just a normal person, just like everyone else, no one wants to hang out with a fan girl, you are better than this! “So where are we going?” he said standing up with two bags in his hands.

“Oh, uh, just down the hall 503” I replied.

“Oh ok, I’m in 501 right next door! I guess you’re my new neighbor.”

“I guess so! I’m Desi by the way!” I said with a smile.

“Harry. Nice to meet you! Desi? Is that short for something?” he asked as we approached my door and I fumbled with my keys.

“Yeah, Desdemona,” I said scrunching up my face, “unfortunately for me my mother was a fan of Shakespeare.”

“Well I think Desdemona is a very pretty name.”

“Thanks but I wholeheartedly disagree.” I said as we walked into my flat. “You can just set it on the counter thanks for helping me.”

“Why were taking the stairs with that much in your hands anyway?”

“I don’t like elevators!”

“Claustrophobia?”

“No, more like a fear that I’ll plunge ten stories to my death.” I giggled as I started taking out my food

“Well I haven’t heard that one before.”

“Yeah, I think I started watching horror movies too young. Do you want to stay? I have enough food to feed a small army.”

“You mean you’re not going to eat it all?”

“Like I said I have enough food to feed an army.”

“Well I have a friend who could eat all of this himself.”

“Yeah well there’s no way I could eat this by myself, I just couldn’t decide what I wanted so I got all of it. Figured I could eat some tomorrow. So are you staying?”

“Sure, why not, better than eating alone in my flat.”

“Help yourself” I smiled handing him a pair of chopsticks.

“No plates?”

“Where’s the fun in that!?”

We started eating and talking and it just felt natural. It was easy to talk to him and it felt like a normal conversation between friends. I almost forgot he was famous, almost.

“So when did you move in?” he asked.

“I got here around noon.”

“How long have you been in London?”

“Excuse me sir, but that was two questions. Play by the rules!”

“Sorry sorry! Ask your question!”

“Thank you! I will! Who’s your best friend?”

“I have a few.”

“Names?”

“Um excuse me ma’am but that was two questions! Play by the rules!” he mocked.

“I don’t know what to be more upset about the fact that you mocked me or that you called me ma’am!”

“Yeah yeah yeah, when did you move to London?”

“I got here around noon today.”

“Oh! Well that was a waste of a question!”

“Yes it was but you chose to ask it! My turn! Why’d you call me ma’am?”

“Honestly I have no idea growing up with my mom and my sister you would think I would have known better!” he chuckled. “My turn! Do you have any siblings?”

“Nope! Only child, always wanted a brother or sister though.”

“That’s funny I had a sister and wished I was an only child.”

“Are you close with your sister?”

“I think we’re pretty close yeah. Why’d you move to London?”

“Andrew Lloyd Webber offered me the lead in his upcoming play.”

“Wow! Congratulations!”

“Thanks! I’m pretty excited about it!”

We hung out a little longer but when it started pushing midnight he insisted he had to go home and said good bye. I was starting to get kind of sleepy after my long day so I decided to go to bed. I set my alarms though; I wanted to get on London time as quickly as possible. I sunk into the sheets and let sleep wash over me as I thought about my day. I had moved to a city I had dreamed about living in and met a boy I had dreamed about meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like it I worked really hard on this! Let me know what you guys think is this a good start to the Harry fanfic?


	2. Cooking Lessons

The week passed smoothly, I was settling in at work and was growing accustomed to my flat and living on my own. I would see Harry in the hall or lobby every now and then and things were friendly between us. He was really the only friend type person I had in London, sure I was friendly with people I worked with but most of them were considerably older than me and weren’t necessarily the people I would hang out with. They were more the type of people who I wouldn’t joke around with because I knew they wouldn’t get it and I might hurt their feelings. Harry on the other hand joked around with me himself so I knew I wouldn’t offend him by picking on him now and then. 

It was a Friday night and I had nothing to do. I was curled up on the couch reading a book lost in my own world when a knock at the door startled me back into reality. I sighed slightly annoyed and walked to the door and flung it open to reveal Harry. 

“Yes?” I asked.

“Do you have any oregano?” he asked hurriedly. 

“I have salt and pepper.”

“What?”

“Harry I can barely make ramen noodles. I survive off of take out and microwaveable macaroni and cheese I do not have any oregano nor do I even know what you use it for.”

“You don’t know how to cook?” he asked surprised.

“No.”

“Then I’m coming over tomorrow and giving you a cooking lesson.”

“Ok but I’m warning you I’m really bad. Everything I touch burns.”

“That can’t be true, you’ll be fine. Are you sure you don’t have any oregano?”

“I don’t even know what it looks like Harold. Why do you need it so bad anyway?”

“I’m trying to impress my date by cooking her dinner and I ran out.”

“Sorry I can’t help you.”

“That’s fine I’ll see if my friends have some. I don’t think they use it other than when I’m cooking there.”

“Good luck.” I said as he trotted towards the elevators. 

As I shut the door and was left in the privacy of my apartment a smile that would put The Cheshire Cat to shame crept across my face. I really hoped that Harry followed through on his cooking lesson. I liked spending time with Harry. To be honest maybe I was developing a crush on Harry which was weird because I never had a crush on him when I was just a fan girl from a town in South Carolina that no one’s ever heard of. But now that I knew him, his sparkling green eyes and cheeky smile had wormed their way into my heart. But I wasn’t going to ruin my only friendship in London. He probably wouldn’t even return the feelings anyway, I mean he just said he was on a date, so I decided to bury my feelings and be happy with being his friend. 

The next day I was startled out of my dream by a pounding on my door. I grumbled to myself as I rolled out of bed and trudged my way to the door. On my way through the living room I caught the stove clock reading 11 am, way too early for my liking. I threw open the door with an exasperated sigh. Harry towered over me in the doorway with bags in his hands. I wanted to be upset and cranky because he woke me up but his cute dimples and fluffy hair made it nearly impossible. 

“Can I help you?” I said trying to sound aggravated but failing.

“Were you asleep?” he said as he pushed his way past me and headed toward the kitchen.

“Yes. What are you doing? Why are you here?”

“I told you I’m giving you cooking lessons. Why were you still sleeping?”

“Because I was tired and I hadn’t woken up yet. You were serious about the lessons?”

“Of course I was! Do you have any pots and pans to cook in?”

I stared at him briefly. “I have plates…and silverware.”

“Ugh maybe you are hopeless I’ll grab some from my flat be right back.”

“Fine I suppose I’ll go get dressed I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.” I said as I walked back to my bedroom and he walked out the door. 

It didn’t take me long to get dressed, I was too tired to put forth much effort, but by the time I came back Harry already had everything set up in the kitchen.

“So what are we making?” I asked as I joined him.

“Spaghetti. And this,” he said holding up a spice bottle, “is oregano.”

“Yeah, that’s nice,” I said distracted, “but I’m really bad at cooking like I’m cursed, everything I touch gets ruined.”

“I think you’re exaggerating but if it makes you feel better I’ll watch everything you do to make sure you don’t screw up.”

“I really don’t think that will help but whatevs.”

“Did you seriously just say whatevs?”

“Yes I did you got a problem with that?”

“Yeah actually I do don’t ever say it again.”

“I’ll say anything I want to say especially if it irritates you!”

Harry was determined to teach me how to cook and explained everything in much more detail than necessary and to be honest I tuned him out a lot. Everything was going fine until the stove was turned on and he got a phone call.

“Just stir the sauce.” He ordered as he went back to his phone conversation.

I stirred the pot for a few seconds before becoming nervous because he left me alone with the food.

“I’m really not comfortable doing this alone.” I called to him.

“Just stir you’re fine.”

“Ok but-“

“Just stir.”

A minute later he was off of his phone and wandering back into the kitchen. “What the hell did you do to it?” he asked as he looked over my shoulder into the pot.

“I stirred.”

“I left you alone for two minutes how did this happen?”

“I stirred.”

“But-“

“I stirred.”

“Yeah…ok. We’re just gonna leave you to take out and microwaveable macaroni and cheese.” He said as he turned the stove off and placed the pot in the sink.

“I-I stirred.” I repeated as he ushered me out of the kitchen and sat me on the couch.

“Ok. I’m going to run to my flat and get another pot to re-make what you ruined. But this time you’re not going anywhere near it, I think you might actually be cursed when it comes to cooking.”

“Can I at least watch?” I asked as he opened the door to leave.

“From a distance.” He said as he walked out.

He came back and started the process all over again because I had somehow ruined the last batch. It was taking awhile and I was hungry so I pulled leftover Mediterranean out of the fridge and started eating.

“Really? I’m cooking and you’re eating?” he asked in disbelief.

“I was hungry.” I mumbled with a full mouth.

“But I’m cooking.” He emphasized.

“But I was hungry.” I mocked; my mouth still full.

“I thought you said you didn’t eat large amounts of food.”

“I lied. I was just being polite.”

“So what are you eating now?”

“Who knows I just grabbed a box.”

“You don’t know what you’re eating?”

“Nope and I prefer it that way, you can’t be grossed out by something if you don’t know what it is.”

“Do you at least no where it’s from?”

“Yes! It’s from the Mediterranean place down the street.”

“So you’re going to eat Mediterranean and Italian for lunch?”

“Eh. More like Mediterranean for breakfast and Italian for lunch since you woke me up.”

“Mediterranean for breakfast?”

“Yeah.”

“That sounds horrible.”

“Your stomach doesn’t know what time it is.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Well that’s how it works in my world if you don’t like it get out.”

“That’s not nice to say to someone cooking for you.”

“Well to be honest it’s not like I need you.”

“Oh no?”

“Nope! I am a strong independent woman who don’t need no man to make her spaghetti.” I replied sassily.

“You amaze me.”

“Thanks,” I sighed, “I try.” I said as I flicked my hair over my shoulder.

He just laughed and continued cooking. When he was done we ate together and continued our usual banter. He was really sweet…and funny…and gorgeous and adorable. I really needed to get a handle on those feelings. There’s no way he would like you back, I told myself, he’s Harry fucking Styles he could get any girl he wanted he’s not looking in your direction anytime soon. 

Once he left I decided to do some online shopping. I still hadn’t bought a wardrobe and I was getting tired of running back and forth to put together an outfit. After browsing IKEA I settled for a wooden wardrobe with two doors that reminded me of The Witch and The Wardrobe. I had it delivered to my flat and it would be here in about a week which was nice because I was done with having to remember what clothes I had where, I wanted them all in one place where I could look at them all.

I went about my normal Saturday, running errands and doing things I didn’t have time to do during the week. It was a normal day, except for the fact that Harry kept creeping into my thoughts. Every time he did I snapped my thoughts back to something mundane like picking up my prescription or tried to run lines in my head. However my attempts at thwarting romantic thoughts toward Harry failed and he always found his way back in. He even sneaked into my dreams and made my sleep anything but restful with his sassy attitude and beautiful body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys like it I tried really hard to make it good. Let me know what you guys think!


	3. The Wardrobe Debacle

It was a Monday morning and I hadn’t been sleeping well. My mind would decide to debate the details of my relationship with Harry at the most inconvenient times. Of course it couldn’t think of Harry while I was eating or watching TV no it had to wait until I needed sleep. As a result I was spacey and forgetting a lot of my lyrics as we were going over songs at rehearsal. I guess it was noticeable that something was wrong because when they were rehearsing a song I wasn’t in one of my co-stars Becky came over to me.

 

“Hey Desi! Is everything alright?” she asked as she sat down next to me and handed me a much needed coffee.

“Yeah just haven’t been sleeping well,” I reassured, “guess I just have a lot on my mind is all.”

“Well are you doing anything after rehearsals? We could go grab some lunch and talk about it.”

Rehearsals didn’t let out until one and no one had time to eat until after so people would generally go out in small groups and grab lunch afterwards. I had never attended simply because I would rather eat at home with a good book. But I did really need to talk to someone about what was going on in my head. It wasn’t helping trying to make sense of it in my head so maybe talking to someone would help. Besides, Becky was a nice person. Looking at her you would think she was one of the mean girls in high school with her stick figure body, long legs, and bleach blonde hair that rested on her chest. But as soon as you saw her warm inviting smile you could tell that she was the sweetest person in the world. I figured out of everyone I work with Becky would be the least likely to say anything mean about my predicament. 

“Sure why not?” I finally replied and flashed a thankful smile in her direction. 

After rehearsals I waited for Becky to collect her things and the two of us left together. She asked where I wanted to go but I left it up to her since I still didn’t know the city that well. She took me to one of her favorite restaurants and we passed the time with meaningless chit chat while we waited for our food to arrive. 

“So what’s been keeping you up at night?” I sighed in response not really wanting to talk about it for fear of sounding stupid. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just thought it might help if you talk it out with someone.”

“No it’s fine. I-uh, I think I’m in love with my neighbor.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“Oh let me count the ways. Well for one he’s Harry Styles, he sees me in purely a platonic way, I’m pretty sure he’s seeing someone, he’s Harry Styles, I’ve been in some pretty fucked up relationships and I’m pretty fucked up because of it, and oh yeah did I mention he’s Harry fucking Styles.”

“Ok where do I start? Let’s start with the fact that he’s Harry Styles seeing as that’s what has you the most worked up. Why does that make a difference?”

“He’s Harry Styles; he could have any girl he wants why on earth would he want to be with me?”

“But he’s still just a person, it’s not like he’s a god or something.”

“Well no but he could get any girl he wanted why would he want me of all people? Besides like I said I think he’s seeing someone else anyways so it doesn’t even matter.”

“What makes you think he’s seeing someone?”

“He asked me if I had any oregano one night because he was cooking for his date trying to impress her.”

“Have you seen the girl since?”

“No but it’s not like I’m looking for her.”

“So for all you know that could have been their last date. Look I really think your freaking out over nothing. Sure you don’t know for sure if he likes you but you don’t know that he doesn’t. Do you talk to him much?”

“Yeah, we see each other in the lobby and the hall a lot and we’ve hung out some.”

“See you’re already half way there, just get to know him, have fun, enjoy your time with him. If you’re friends with him then you can set out some feelers to see if he is in a relationship or not and how exactly he feels about you.”

“That’s it. That’s your advice? Spend time with him.”

“Yes. You barely know the guy. Get to know him before you decide if you’re in love with him, for all you know he could have some weird disgusting habit that turns you off completely to him.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right. There’s not really anything to freak out over yet.”

“Exactly just spend more time with him and see where it goes.”

I felt better after talking to Becky, she had a point, there was no reason to be freaking out. I just needed to take a chill pill and let the chips fall where they may. The rest of the week I took her advice. Harry and I hung out some and would talk when we saw each other. It was comfortable and I wasn’t freaking out about who he was or how I felt. When I came home Friday there was a package waiting for me in the lobby. It was the wardrobe I had ordered and it was a rather large box. There was no way that I could carry it up the stairs, at least not by myself; I would have to take the elevator which I was not too fond of. While I was waiting for the elevator I ran into Harry. 

“You’re taking the elevator?” he asked confused.

“Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to get this box up the stairs so death contraption it is.” I replied.

“You really don’t like elevators do you?”

“Not at all.”

“Then here, I can help you take the box up the stairs.”

“You really don’t have to do that I can suck it up for one trip I’ve done it before.”

“But aren’t you afraid of elevators?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you shouldn’t have to take them, it’s no problem I promise.”

“I’m pretty sure most people say that you have to face your fears not run away from them.”

“Well I’m not most people. Please just let me help you.”

“You’re sure you don’t mind?”

“I’m sure, it’s no problem really.”

He helped me carry the box up the stairs and the only problem we had was when he randomly started laughing. 

“What is so funny?” I asked, setting the box down.

“I was just thinking of that episode of Friends where they were trying to move the couch and Ross kept yelling PIVOT! PIVOT,” he explained.

I couldn’t help but laugh with him as I was reminded of the scene. “C’mon we’re almost there you goof!”

“What did you buy?” He asked when we finally made it into my flat.

“A wardrobe, I couldn’t fit all of my clothes in my closets.”

“Closets as in plural? How many clothes do you have?”

“Clearly a lot.”

“Are you putting it together yourself?”

“I was going to yeah.” He just snorted. “What you don’t think I can do it?”

“You can’t even stir spaghetti sauce what makes you think you can put this together.”

“I’ve done it before! Whenever my mom bought something we put it together ourselves.”

“I have a feeling it’s not going to go so well.”

“You know what! You just watch I’ll build it perfectly.”

“Was that an invitation? Because I would love a front row seat to this train wreck.”

“Alright fine if you want to sit here and watch me kick ass at assembling this wardrobe be my guest.”

“Ok BUT…when you fail miserably you have to answer any question I have for you one hundred percent honestly for an hour.”

“Like an honesty hour?”

“Yeah I guess.”

“Alright fine but if I assemble it correctly then you have to make me whatever I want for dinner.”

“I love how I ask for questions and you ask for food.”

“I like food what can I say? C’mon.” I said as I nodded down the hall and started moving the box into my bedroom. “Ok how do you open the box?” I said to myself thinking out loud.

“See you can’t even figure out how to open the box.”

“Shut up!”

I finally figured out how to open the box and began pulling the items out while Harry snatched up the directions. “Do you realize that there are pictures on here telling you not to build it yourself but to hire someone and to not use the directions but to call IKEA?” Harry stated as he flipped through the booklet.

“Well I guess it’s a good thing I’m not going to use the directions.”

“You’re not going to use the directions? Are you crazy?”

“No. I never use directions and everything always comes out fine.”

“If you say so…” Two and a half hours later the wardrobe was built perfectly and it was ready to be stood up. “Here let me help you get it up.”

“No! I’m fine! I’m a big girl I can do it myself.”

“It’s like three times the size of you!”

“I have muscles!”

“Mine are bigger.” He stated confidently.

“And I’m a cheerleader! I lift things all the time I don’t need your help.” I said as I started to move the wardrobe.

“How does being a cheerleader prove that you’re stronger than me?”

“Because athletes lift weights, cheerleaders lift athletes who lift weights. I’m stronger than you think! I may be small but I can pack a punch.”

“Haha. I bet you can.”

“So um what does that look like over there Styles?” I asked pointing to the wardrobe.

“It looks like a fully assembled wardrobe.” He stated in defeat.

“So I believe you owe me dinner.”

“Yes I do. What do you want?”

“Do you know how to make paella?” I asked.

“What’s that?”

“Grilled rice dish from Spain.”

“Oh you mean paella.” He said pronouncing the L. 

I took a deep breath before responding. “OK Spanish dish Spanish name the double L makes a y.”

“Well excuse me! But no I don’t know how to make it. I can try though if you have a recipe.”

“It’s fine I know how to make it, it’s like the one thing I can actually make, I can teach you!”

“You can make paella but you can’t stir spaghetti sauce without ruining it?”

“I’m a very complicated woman.” I joked. “No, it took me a few years to get the hang of it; my step-mothers dad would try and teach me to cook whenever I was over. Some things I learned, other things didn’t go so well.”

“Cool. So I take it your parents are divorced?”

“Yeah when I was eight.”

“Yeah? I was seven when my parents split. Do you still have a good relationship with both your parents?”

“My mom yeah. My dad…it depends on the month. He can’t really decide if he wants to be a part of my life or ignore my existence so sometimes it’s good other times I get so angry I don’t want to speak with him. But it doesn’t really have anything to do with the divorce, if anything I saw him more after my parents split.”

“I’m sorry that kind of sucks.”

“Eh. It is what it is I guess. I’m better about it now than when I was younger, I kind of understand where he’s coming from.”

“What do you mean?”

“His dad paid a lot less attention to him so from his stand point he’s doing a great job. And he always wants to help everyone, so his family gets put on the back burner a lot because he knows that we’ll just understand. So he doesn’t mean to do anything wrong he just does and then doesn’t realize it.”

We continued our conversation while we made dinner and moved onto some less dreary topics. He was surprised that dinner came out well and that no one died in the process. We joked around while we ate dinner and eventually he left but not before insisting on helping me clean up. Once I was left alone I went to move all of my clothes but when I opened the wardrobe the door fell off in my hand. I couldn’t help but laugh so I took a picture and sent it to Harry. He quickly responded with you owe me an honesty hour. 

I guess I do I responded before I decided to just get ready and go to sleep. This time I wasn’t freaking out in my head and I was actually able to get a good night’s sleep.


	4. Part 1: Finding the courage

*Harry’s POV*

I didn’t know how I ended up at Liam’s door but I knew why. I had too many things rolling around in my head and I couldn’t make sense of them by myself. I had been in my living room trying to sort things out myself when I got up and left. I didn’t know where I was going until I got there. I don’t even remember knocking because I was thinking about too many things at once, but I must have because Liam opened the door.

 

“Hey Haz, what’s up?” he asked when he saw me.

“I-I’m not sure. Can I talk to you?” I replied.

“Yeah sure, come in,” he replied stepping out of the doorway, “Do you want some tea?”

“Sure, thanks.”

Liam went to the kitchen to fix the tea and I followed after him. I sat at the table waiting for Liam to be done and thankfully he didn’t try to get me to talk to him, I still hadn’t worked out a coherent sentence. Liam fixed me a cup and set it down in front of me before he sat down across from me.

“Do you want to talk now?”

“You know how I told you that a girl moved in the flat next to mine?”

“Yeah…”

“Well I really like her but I’m afraid to ask her out because I don’t know if she likes me and I think she might be friend zoning me but there are other times I think that maybe she wants to be more than friends and I just don’t know.”

“Why do you think she’s friend zoning you and flirting with you?”

“She’s friendly but she never really flirts with me but sometimes it’s more than just your average friendly conversation but it still doesn’t really feel like flirting. It’s like somewhere between friendly and flirty and I don’t know what that means.”

“So you don’t know for sure if she likes you, but what’s the worst that could happen if you ask her out?”

“She could say no and I could be humiliated and heartbroken and she could never speak to me again.”

“OK I think that’s a little dramatic, she probably won’t exile you from her life if you ask her out.”

“Yeah you’re right probably not. But do you think she’d still want to be friends with me if I asked her out and she didn’t feel the same way? Because I’d rather be friends with her and hide my feelings than not have her in my life at all.”

“I don’t know Haz, it’s not like I know her, but I’m sure if you mention that when you ask her out it’ll be fine and you can still be friends…if she doesn’t feel the same way…for all you know she could be having this exact same conversation with one of her friends.”

“Yeah ok, no guts no glory right?”

“Right! So what is it about this girl that has you so out of your element?”

“She’s perfect Li, she’s fun and quirky like she can’t cook anything simple but she can make this really complicated dish which is so weird and she doesn’t like elevators so she insists on carry everything up the stairs even if it’s a hassle and she’s so stubborn but still willing to admit defeat and she’s just full of contradictions that make no sense but kind of do make sense because that’s just her and she’s just a really great person and I just really like her ok? And I don’t know how to handle it because she isn’t openly and obviously flirting with me.”

“Well clearly you really like her. Just ask her out and see what happens don’t stress too much.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“No problem.”

As I left Liam’s flat I felt better, I could finally wrap my head around the idea of asking her out without puking. I decided to man up and ask her out the next time I saw her, I just hope it’s not today. I would like some time to figure out what to say so that I don’t sound like a bumbling idiot. When I went home I tried to think of something to say but I didn’t like anything I came up with. Unfortunately I couldn’t come up with anything better before I saw her again. I was coming back from the studio and she was wrestling with her keys and take out bags trying to get into her flat. She looked beautiful as always, with her long curly hair falling on her chest. Her eyes concentrated on opening the door without losing any of her food. She started to drop her things so I rushed to give her a hand. 

“Here,” I said as I grabbed some bags from her hands, “I got it.”

“Thanks,” she giggled, flashing me her gorgeous smile that gave me butterflies.

“Why do you always insist on carrying more than you can hold?” I asked as we walked into her flat.

“Because I’m a stubborn Italian who can never make up her mind of what she wants to eat so she orders the whole menu.”

“Fair enough.”

‘This is it’ I told myself. Just ask her out, simple as that right? My heart was racing and the butterflies were puking in my stomach. 

“So can I-uh ask you something?” I started, still unsure of what I wanted to say.

“Yeah anything. What’s up.” She said, cheerily flashing me another heart melting smile making it that much more difficult to find the words I was looking for.

“I was wondering if uh, maybe you’d like to go out with me Friday night like uh, like on a date?”

“Sure. But rehearsals were pushed back and now I won’t be done until six, but after that I’m totally free.”

“Really? Great! I’ll uh pick you up at eight then? Does that give you enough time to get ready?”

“Yeah.” She giggled. 

“Alright, great! I’ll uh-I’ll see you then.” I stuttered as I backed out of her flat.

The rest of the week dragged on in anticipation. I had made reservations the second I made it back to my own flat so after that all I had to do was wait…and wait…and wait some more. I had butterflies in my stomach the whole week, that got more active as Friday night approached. When the day finally came I felt like I was going to puke. I didn’t want to screw things up and I was pretty confident that I most definitely would. So at five o’clock when the nerves became too much I went to Liam for another pep talk. 

“Hey what’s up” he asked as he opened the door.

“I’m freaking out Li!” I replied as I walked inside and began pacing nervously in his living room. 

“Don’t you have your date with that girl tonight?”

“Yes but it’s not until eight and if I don’t figure out how to calm my nerves now I’ll be hyperventilating by the time I have to pick her up.”

“Calm down, just take a deep breath,” he suggested and I followed his advice, “What’s got you so frazzled this time?”

“I really don’t want to screw this up and I’m fairly certain that I will.”

“Calm down, you haven’t screwed it up yet and she agreed to go on a date with you.”

“Right you’re right. But what if word get out and the paps bother us and it freaks her out? Oh god should I have not taken her out should we have just stayed in and me cook for her?”

“Haz, even if you did stay in tonight you would have to deal with the paps eventually, better to get it out of the way now and find out if it’s a deal breaker besides, if she likes you the way that you like her it won’t matter.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I should take her out; she deserves to be taken out.”

“Plus, she probably already expects to be bother by someone, if not the paps then at least a fan or two.”

“Well that’s the thing, she’s never like said anything about it and I’ve never brought it up so I don’t know if she knows about the band.”

“Then talk to her about it before you go. Then you can find out if she’s comfortable with it and if she isn’t then you can make the decision to just stay in.”

“Right, OK. Thanks Li, I’m just really nervous.”

“Yeah I figured that out.” He laughed.

“Shut up! I really like her OK?”

“OK I’m sorry. But you’ll be fine just relax and be yourself.”

“Thanks for the advice again, I’ll get out of your hair now.”

I left Liam’s flat so that I could go get ready myself. I didn’t really need to get dressed yet but I was anxious so I did it anyway. That was probably a mistake because then I had nothing to do other than pace and make myself nervous again. I kept having to repeat Liam’s advice in my head, just relax and be yourself. Finally eight o’clock rolled around and I walked next door and took in a nervous breath before I found the courage to knock. 

“Hey can you give me one more sec I just have to grab my purse.” She said as she opened the door and let me in. She looked gorgeous in a little black dress that was long enough to be modest but still short enough to be sexy, although I’ve seen her in sweats and glasses and she still looks pretty sexy so it probably didn’t have anything to do with the dress and everything to do with her.

“Yeah that’s fine, I, uh, I actually wanted to talk to you before we leave.”

“Oh ok. What about?” she responded as she came back into the room.

“I um, I’m kind of in this band, and we’re actually kind of popular, and so like, the media likes to know what’s going on in our lives so um, there might be like paparazzi following us, or um, people staring when we go out.” She just stared at me blankly. Shit I messed this up didn’t I? She doesn’t want the attention or the hassle. She doesn’t want to go out with me now does she? I just looked to her for a reaction.

“Oh that was it? That was all you had to say.”

“U-um. Yeah.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “Harry I know. I don’t live under a rock. I know you’re in ‘One Direction World Famous Boy Band’ and I wouldn’t have agreed to go out with you if the idea of the paps or fans bothered me.”

“Wait you’ve known who I am this whole time?”

“Yeah…”

“Well why didn’t you say anything?”

She sighed. “So you know how there’s that really popular kid in school that like everyone knows about but only a few people actually hang out with. And the people who hang out with them just call them by their first name but everyone else refers to them by their full name. So if you don’t hang out with them you call them by their full name and then maybe one day you meet them and hang out with them and become friends with them and then suddenly you’re just calling them by their first name because you know them. Are you following?”

“Yeah I think, continue.”

“Ok well that’s kind of what happened with you. Everyone knew of you but only a few people actually knew you. So before I met you, you were Harry Styles from One Direction but then I met you and we became friends so you weren’t Harry Styles from One Direction anymore, you were just Harry, my friend. Make sense?”

“I think.”

“Ok so are we good now? Can we go?”

“Are you sure you’re ok that people might stare at us and we might be disturbed by paps?”

She sighed again. “Harold. In a few months I will be on stage in front of thousands of strangers staring at me and then after the show people will probably want pictures with me because that’s how plays work. Call this practice.” She smirked.

“OK fair enough.”

“Great now can we go? I haven’t eaten since breakfast and I’m starving.”

“Yeah we can go now; we have reservations in fifteen minutes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think. Should the date be from Harry or Desi’s perspective? Feedback is always appreciated and helps me write faster. :)


	5. Ch. 4 Part 2: Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so so sorry its been so long since my last update! This is so overdue but here it is let me know what you think!

*Harry’s POV*

The drive to the restaurant was awkwardly silent which caused my heart to race and my palms to get sweaty. I opened my mouth several times to say something, anything to break the silence, but it was like my mind was blank. I couldn’t think of anything to say so the drive went on in silence. I never noticed her try to say anything so maybe the silence didn’t bother her, but it drove me crazy. If I couldn’t say anything in the car what was it going to be like at the restaurant? Maybe I was just over thinking it though, she didn’t seem uncomfortable. 

When we were actually in the restaurant it was still awkwardly silent. But again I might have been over thinking things. She was probably just trying to figure out what she wanted to eat since she always had a problem making decisions on what to order. I watched her to see if that was why she wasn’t talking and I could tell I was right when I saw the look of concentration on her face that made my heart twinge a little bit. 

“Having trouble deciding? Want to order the whole menu?” I joked finally thinking of something intelligent to say.

“Actually, I have it narrowed down to 2 things thank you very much” she responded, sass dripping from her words.

“Oh really? And what would those two items be?” I quipped doubting her.

“A Caesar salad or the bacon burger.”

“Please, we both know you’re not exactly a salad girl.”

“Ugh!” she scoffed, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you eat more than a twelve year old boy who plays three sports!”

“That’s ugh―I―ugh―that’s,” she stammered, “…so true,” she relented.

We placed our orders and things were silent for a bit before I got the courage to ask the question that had been on my mind since we had left her flat.

“So how big of a one direction fan are you?” I asked terrified of her answer, I wanted her to be on a date with me, not a member of one direction.

“Really? That’s what you want to talk about?”

“Well I would like to know if you’re here because you like me or if you’re here because you like my band.” I responded showing all my cards.

“Oh…well shouldn’t my first response be your answer?”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, I’m not going to lie I was a pretty big fan. But I understand that you’re a person not just a member of a band. I can assure you that I am here on a date with Harry, my sarcastic, and irritating as all hell, neighbor.”

“I’m sorry I just―”

“It’s fine,” she cut me off, “I get it. I’m sure a lot of people would only be here so they could say that they went out with Harry Styles. However, I am not one of those people; I’m here because I like you, not because I like your band.”

“Ok.” I smiled.

“Good. So can we move on from this topic of conversation?” she joked flashing me a smile that sent a shiver down my spine.

“So you’re an actress? Yeah?” I asked moving on to a less awkward conversation.

“Um…yeah I guess. God that’s so weird to say.” she crinkled her nose as she spoke rejecting the word actress.

“Why is that weird?”

“It’s just this is the first time I’ll be performing on a stage that isn’t in my high school cafeteria. So it’s weird to think of myself as an actress now. Y’know?”

“How did you get into acting? Was it just like something you wanted to try or what?”

“No. I definitely did not want to try acting. I was friends with all the theatre geeks in high school and I would help out back stage with like hair and makeup. Personally that was the closest to the stage I wanted to be but sophomore year they were doing The Wizard of Oz and my friends convinced me to try out for Dorothy but they literally had to drag me there kicking and screaming to do it.”

“So I take it you fell in love with it after that?”

“Oh god no! We did four performances and I threw up before and after each one. I absolutely hated it!”

“So how did you end up here?” I laughed confused.

“The next play rolled around and they did the same shit to me and after about three plays I was over my initial stage fright.”

“Why were your friends so hell bent on getting you to be in the plays?”

“I think they just wanted to push me out of my comfort zone.”

“Well look how well it turned out.”

*Desi’s POV*

The rest of dinner went fairly well; there weren’t any more awkward conversations and Harry stopped shifting uncomfortably so I think his nerves calmed down. I thought it was sweet that he was nervous about our date. The more comfortable he got during the night the more he smiled, which in turn made me smile. He had this energy about him; if he was happy you couldn’t help but be happy with him. 

When the check came he snatched it up like his life depended on it and quickly paid so I decided to give him a hard time about it.

“Ugh,” I scoffed, “I don’t even get dessert?”

“Dessert is somewhere else.” He replied without thinking.

“What makes you think I’m that easy?” I joked.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” he defended.

“I know! I just like giving you a hard time!”

“You’re going to be the death me!” he grumbled

We walked a few blocks to an ice cream shop that was across from the park. After we ordered our ice cream we took a walk through the park and just talked some more. There were a few paps which Harry apologized for but I didn’t mind. As we were walking back to the car for Harry to take us home he decided he wanted to validate the night.

“So was this a good first date?” he asked with a hopeful smile.

“I couldn’t have a imagined something more perfect,” I smiled, “although in all honesty I probably would have been equally as happy curled up in front of the TV for a movie night. I’m not a hard girl to please.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for our second date.”

“Who says there’s going to be a second date? Cocky much?” I countered.

“Are you kidding me? You just gave me raving reviews but you don’t want a repeat performance?”

“You know what they say when you assume…” I chided.

He let out a long huff. “Fine. Will you go on a second date with me sometime in the near future?”

“Why yes I would love to!” I replied with just enough sass to let him know I was joking from the start.

The drive back to the apartment complex was silent but it was more of a happy silence. Every now and then I would steal glances at Harry, and I noticed he had a smile on his face that put his dimples on perfect display. 

“Thank you!” Harry said breaking the silence as we reached my door.

“For what?”

“For agreeing to go out on this date and not smashing my heart into a million pieces.” He said half joking.

“Well then thank you for asking me out because I don’t think I would have had the balls to ask you out.”

“Ha ha. Well then you’re welcome. No but seriously thank you, I had a great time tonight.”

“So did I, it was a lot of fun.” I smiled back.

He looked at me with a glint in his eyes and an expression on his face as if her were debating something before he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. It was hesitant at first, as if he were afraid of offending me, but when I didn’t move he become more confident in his movements. It wasn’t like in the movies, where sparks fly and fireworks go off. It was just simple and natural…and I liked that.


End file.
